I love a good meme!  Jennifer at Alaivani.com has tagged me with the challenge of sharing 5 ways to reduce the use of chemicals in our everyday lives.  Since this is a topic near and dear to my heart, I was very ready to bite.  Okay, Jen, here goes.

 

  1. Microfiber cloths.  My mother-in-law got me hooked on these.  They clean everything from the daintiest jewelry to your car, and here’s the best part, with only water.  Tough, grimy gunk usually requires hot water, in my experience, but no chemicals.  They are the best at cleaning windows and mirrors, but I’ve also used them on furniture, floors, litter boxes, the cats, the cats’ ears, silver and brass, you name it.  I can hardly keep enough of them.

  2. Organic gardening.  I did something today I’ve never done before in my life – almost 40 years now – I mowed the lawn – with a reel mower.  No gas, no oil, no heavy machinery, no back pain – and it worked beautifully!  Gardening and lawn care is one area I’ve been going chemical-free for quite some time now.  In the garden, the pesticides don’t work any better than the natural methods, so why bother (and waste your money)?  Until last year, my brother was buying a chemical trap to catch Japanese beetles in his garden.  Then I told him my little trick, which I happened upon by accident.  I was cleaning out my car one day when I felt the need for some soapy water.  For whatever reason, I put a few drops of Dawn dishwashing detergent into a mason jar and filled it about half-full of water.  On my way back outside, I noticed my neighbor’s dog running toward me.  Deciding to stop and play with him, I sat the jar down at the edge of the garden. When I went back to it, it was almost filled with Japanese beetles!  I had found a “natural” solution.  I did some research and found out that my trick was really nothing more than “insecticidal soap,” which has been used by organic gardeners for years.  The beetles that don’t make it into the jar are hand-picked off my garden by my neighbor.  He loves his roses and walks around the neighborhood collecting all the Japanese beetles he can find in the interest of protecting his own investment.  Which reminds me that we are all connected and need to watch out for and help one another.  But, back to this post!

  3. Blue cat food.  This one may surprise you.  The vet told me that my cat probably had a flea on her somewhere that was causing her fur to fall out on her back.  I treated her for almost one year with a standard chemical.  I noticed that I had to keep using it more and more frequently in order to prevent the problem.  I decided to do some online research, and discovered that there could be additives in her food that she is intolerant to.  So I switched her to Blue and within 2 months her hair grew back in and I was able to stop the treatments completely.  My other cat now has fewer hairballs as well.  Go figure!

  4. Open the windows.  My husband has slight asthma that can be triggered by intense odors.  Once the condition gets stirred up, he has a very difficult time getting over it.  A couple of years ago we had to eliminate most air fresheners because even the slightest whiff would bother him.  You know how the house gets stale smelling when it’s shut up for long periods of time?  I decided to open the windows and let in some fresh air, making sure no neighbors were mowing their lawns at the time, (since that would stir up a whole ‘nother set of problems!), and voila – fresh air, no chemicals.  Now I crack a window or two every day to let in fresh air.  It doesn’t take very long so I seriously doubt there’s much energy being wasted if you’re running the heat or A/C.  (Whenever possible though, I turn off such devices and open all the doors and windows.)

  5. Now here’s one that will knock your socks off.  Ozonated water.  My husband has purchased a TherO3Zone unit for his new dental office and I must say, it is very impressive!  This is like a microfiber cloth on steroids!  (Okay – maybe not the best analogy, please forgive!)  The research on this technology is remarkable and if it’s accurate, ozonated water could rid the world of many of our most troubling diseases, including cancer.  In the dental office, it has the potential to replace Lysol for disinfecting purposes.  It is currently being used to treat and eliminate bacteria in the water lines.  My husband has applied it topically to eliminate his minor adult acne.  There are many websites that provide results from clinical research, as well as products for consumer use, and more information – just do a Google search on “Ozonated water” and you’ll be busy the rest of the day.

 

I was recently challenged by the much-too-common-around-here redneck with the comment, “I’m not planning to live 500 years, why should I worry about the planet?  It’s not my problem.”

 

Well, my problem is:  This world might not be here tomorrow for all we know, but we now live in an age when it has been brought to our awareness that some of our habits and “conveniences” are destroying the natural resources of this planet that we enjoy now.  My spirit is wounded anytime I harm something that I now enjoy .  Why not do whatever we can to feel good about how we are treating our planet now?

 

Jennifer, I really enjoyed writing this post; thank you for the opportunity and for thinking of me.

 

I now tag:  Aaron Potts, Greenwoman, Albert Foong, Michael, Sharleyanne, and Jenny.

 

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